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environmental science > mineral resources > Flashcards

mineral resources Flashcards

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1
Q

what is a mineral?

A

-naturally occurring inorganic solid, with a definite chemical composition
-not made by humans
-never been alive, not made up from plants/animals
-each one made up of particular mix of chemicals

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2
Q

what is the use of mineral resources?

A

-non-renewable
-they reformed too slowly to be replaced with timescales that would allow human use
-long-term use relies on understanding of scientific methods that will increase supplies, extend use, find alternatives for those in restricted supplies

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3
Q

what is the lithosphere?

A

-outermost shell of a terrestrial planet or natural satellite. on earth, its composed of the crust and portion of the upper mantle
-includes rocks, solid, mineral resources that are impact for human society

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4
Q

what does hydrothermal mean?

A

-action of heated water in the earths crust

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5
Q

what does deposition mean?

A

-laying down of sediment carried by wind, flowing water, the sea or ice

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6
Q

what does alluvial processes mean?

A

-involves materials being carried and separated by flowing water

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7
Q

what are the types of rock?

A

-igneous= has crystals
-sedimentary= has grains bound together by a cement
-metamorphic= has crystals

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8
Q

what are igneous rocks?

A

-if the magma cools slowly underground, theres more time to cool so crystals grow large
-these rocks are called intrusive rocks
-if the magma cools quickly on surface of earths crust theres no time fro crystals to grow so theyre very small
-these rocks are called extrusive rocks

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9
Q

what is hydrothermal deposition?

A

-igneous intrusions= magma pushes up, cools & solidifies within crust forming batholith
-intrusions produce pressurised superheated water
-dissolves minerals in surrounding rock
-mineral rich solutions travel along fissures away from batholith & cool
-minerals come out of solutions in order of solubility

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10
Q

what is fractional crystalisation?

A

-as superheated water cools along hydrothermal vents minerals come out of solution
-least soluble crystalise first and deposited in layers in vents
-later explored and extracted
-allows access to minerals that otherwise couldnt be extracted
-minerals include tin, copper, lead, silver, gold, and arsenic

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11
Q

what are sedimentary rocks?

A

-form from compaction of pre-existing pieces of rock and mineral
-a previous rock must be weathered and eroded, and particles transported and then deposited
-then the grains are compacted, and the pressure binds the loose sediment together to form a rock

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12
Q

what are metamorphic rocks?

A

-common economically used rocks are slate and marble
-slate was once mudstone or clay that’s been altered by intense heat/pressure
-marble was once limestone which was heated and recrystalised

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13
Q

what are proterozoic marine sediments?

A

-includes iron ores deposits
-formed when dissolved iron compounds become oxidised by oxygen released from photosynthesis
-produces insoluble iron oxide deposits
-occurred mainly between 2.5 and 2.8 billion years ago

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14
Q

what are biological sediments?

A

-when mineral deposits form from biological organisms
-this often concentrates the mineral that are then deposited in sedimentary rocks

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15
Q

what are alluvial deposits?

A

-refer to the movement and separation of materials caused by flowing water
-the velocity of the water dictates the ability of the water to carry solids,and the density of solids that can be transported. humans exploit alluvial deposits including:
*gold
*gravel
*sand
*clay
*diamond

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16
Q

what is stock?

A

all resources that can be exploited now, in the future, or never

17
Q

what is a resource?

A

all materials that are theoretically available, including material that is currently economically unavailable to extract or cannot be extracted either current technology

18
Q

what is a reserve?

A

portion of the resource that can be exploited now, economically using existing technology

19
Q

what are reserves and resources?

A

-quantity of every metal present in the lithosphere far exceeds realistic human demands
-only a portion of it will ever be exploitable and even less can be exploited economically

20
Q

what is laskys principle?

A

as purity of a mineral decreases, the mass of montreal’s present increases exponentially

21
Q

what is cut off ore grade?

A

-minimum grade required for a mineral or metal to be economically mined
-material found to be above this grade is ore, material below is waste
-measured in grams per tonne (g/T)

22
Q

what is inferred reserves?

A

-presence of mineral has been predicted by knowledge of geological structures but isn’t completely accurate, & not enough to estimate the quantity that can be extracted

23
Q

what are potable reserves?

A

sufficient info is available on the minerals so that the quantity can be estimated, proves that further exploration is justified

24
Q

what are proven reserves?

A

sufficient exploration has been carried out to get an accurate estimate so the mineral can be extracted

25
Q

what factors affect mine viability?

A

-economics
-geology
-chemical form
-ore purity and cut off ore grade

26
Q

what is ore purity in mine viability?

A

-purity affects financial costs of exploration, environmental impacts of extraction
-low ore grade means more rock will have to be mined, more waste will be produced, more energy needed for mining, more pollution generated

27
Q

what is chemical form in mine viability?

A

-chemical form of minerals affects chemical extraction
-for example:
•aluminium and be extracted from bauxite
•aluminium can’t be extracted from clay, but this is far more abundant

28
Q

what is geology in mine viability?

A

-overburden: rock that lies above the mineral deposit, has to be removed before extracting the mineral. hard overburden may require blasting which increases costs. loose overburden may have landslide risks
-hydrology: high precipitation or impermeable rocks may increase drainage costs
-depth: deeper deposits=inc. costs. more rock has to be removed so pumping of ground water may be required

29
Q

what is economics in mine viability?

A

-mining must make a profit
-must balance production costs and income
-cut off ore grade changes as tech improves and market prices fluctuate

30
Q

why must we explore before extracting?

A

-reserves can’t be extracted until they’re proven
-this requires remote exploratory techniques
-considerations:
•distance from site
•data collection range
•technique
•large or small scale

31
Q

what is IR spectroscopy?

A

-different minerals emit infrared radiation at different wavelength and these can be used to identify them
-example: zuinshan mining field

32
Q

what is gravimetry?

A

-gravimetry detects variations in gravity caused by variations in density and mass. igneous rocks are usually more dense than sedimentary deposits
-example: hercynian rehemna, Morocco

33
Q

what is magnetometry?

A

-magnetometers detect rocks which are more magnetic such as the iron core magnetite and ores of tungsten and cobalt
-example: drone magnetometry, estancias mountain range, Almeria

34
Q

what are seismic surveys?

A

-involved sound waves produced by controlled explosions, or a seismic vibrator in the surface, the echoes can give info about the depth, density and d shape of rock strata
-example: flin flon mining camp, Canada

35
Q

what is resistivity?

A

-measurement of the difficulty with which electricity passes through a material. in general, sedimentary rocks have lower resistivities than igneous rocks because they have higher water contents
-example: karst regions

36
Q

what is trial drilling?

A

-most expensive technique per sampling site but is only method that actually produces samples of the rocks underground
-example: daunia coal mine

37
Q

what is chemical analysis?

A

-lab tests confirm the chemical composition and purity of a he minerals in the rock samples
-example: dazhu, China

38
Q

how can we extract minerals?

A

-opencast mining or quarrying
-underground mining
-washing out a weak mineral using hoses

39
Q

how are open cast or underground mining different?

A

-opencast: overburden is removed and stored around the site- these bunds absorb noise. then the economic mineral is extracted using bulldozers
-underground: also be called deep shaft or adit mining. horizontal tunnels or adits branch off the main shaft. a main shaft is sunk

environmental science (15 decks)

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